Match of the week

Lotus root stir-fry and chrysanthemum tea

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on June 20 2016 at 08:50

It seems invidious to pick out just one wine pairing from my visit to the Okanagan valley last week (of which more in due course) so I’m going for the first drink I had on my arrival: chrysanthemum tea at a brilliant Chinese restaurant called Chef Tony in Richmond, the town just next door to Vancouver.

According to local food and wine writer Stephanie Yuen who took me there it’s the perfect antidote to jetlag, a cooling tea that’s easy to digest and a recognised pick-me-up (And definitely preferable to alcohol at what would have been the equivalent of 4am back home!)

It also happened to be a refreshing pairing for the homestyle dishes that Stephanie picked from the menu, particularly this fresh-tasting stir fry of lotus root, mangetout, and mushrooms though it also went well with peashoots, a deeply savoury chicken dish and a delicous pork belly and bean cake (which was like a savoury sausage patty).

Richmond is the heart of the Chinese community in BC (over 50% of its population are of Chinese origin) and apparently has well over 500 Chinese restaurants. Chef Tony is also a favourite of another Chinese food writer Lee Man - you can see his other recommendations here.

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